October 16, 1646 at 4:30 p.m."I was made a Free Mason at Warrington in Lancashire, with Coll: Henry Mainwaring of Karincham in Cheshire. The names of those that were then of the Lodge: Mr. Rich Penket, Warden, Mr. James Collier, Mr. Rich. Sankey, Henry Littler, John Ellam, Rich. Ellam & Hugh Brewer."

ATTENTION!Kindly sign your comment posts. Anonymous postings on Masonic topics have the same status as cowans and eavesdroppers, as far as I am concerned, and may be deleted if I don't recognize you or if I'm in a grumpy mood.

A mythic past. A visionary future. A legendary brotherhood.

Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons use the tools, traditions and terminology of those earlier stonemasons as allegories for building temples in the hearts of men.

It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself.

At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For that man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

He spent twenty three years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions, shooting and editing close to 1,000 commercials, music videos and feature films. He has written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and his voice has appeared in many television and radio commercials.

Chris received his college education at Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

For those who really care about such things, as a Freemason he is a Past Master of Broad Ripple Lodge #643 and of Lodge Vitruvian #767, Free & Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana; and a member Internet Lodge #9659 in the Province of East Lancashire of the United Grand Lodge of England. He is also an honorary member of Vincennes Lodge No. 1, Plymouth-Kilwinning Lodge #149, Ancient Landmarks Lodge #319, Garfield Lodge #569, and Logan Lodge #575 in Indiana; African Lodge #459, Prince Hall Affiliation, in Boston, Massachusetts; and the Grand Lodge of New Mexico AF&AM.

He was the editor and a contributor to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith"by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications.

Hodapp and Alice Von Kannon developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in 2017 on America: Facts vs Fiction.

I am a Freemason and a member of both the regular, recognized Grand Lodge of Indiana F&AM and the United Grand Lodge of England. However, unless otherwise attributed, the opinions expressed in this blog are my own, or of others expressing theirs by posting comments. I do not in any way represent the official positions of my lodges or Grand Lodges, any associated organization of which I may or may not be a member, or the fraternity of Freemasonry as a whole.

Be aware that no one person may speak on behalf of Freemasonry or present their opinion as being the "official" position of the fraternity, unless it is a grand master, and then, only within his own jurisdiction. While Freemasonry is a global fraternal organization, there is no single, authoritative, administrative Masonic body or figurehead anywhere in the world.

The unauthorized appearance of content from this site, in whole or in part, in links, aggregators, forums, comments or other websites does not express or imply an endorsement by the author.

If you are a Freemason and are lifting material from this website without attribution, shame on you.